James Cole: Building a £100m company without the b*llocks

James Cole is the straight-talking founder of Panache Cruises.

He founded the luxury cruise retailer during Covid and believes in authenticity and honesty, and is partial to the odd swear word.

A two-time founder, he’s on track to build his second £100m turnover company, but this time it won’t be at the expense of his family or by turning to drink.

In this episode of the Naked Founder podcast, he discusses:

• How he nearly lost it all with his first startup Cruise118
• How stopping drinking on New Year’s Eve 2018 transformed his life
• Launching Panache Cruises during Covid
• Turning 50 by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro for charity
• Growing to £50m turnover in five years
• Why his family will always come first
• Meeting his hero Sir Richard Branson

This episode is a product of BusinessCloud. It was sponsored by ‘Financielle – The Home of Money for Women’ and produced by Dan Brown of Renowned.

To sponsor the show, email news@businesscloud.co.uk

Chapters
0:00 Introduction: James Cole & Panache Cruises
00:35 What They Don't Tell You About Founding a Business
02:09 Christmas Day & Drinking to Cope: The Cruise 118 Crisis
03:24 Launching Into Lehman Brothers: Nearly Going Bust
04:26 Giving Up Alcohol: New Year's Eve 2018
05:40 Building Panache on Better Foundations
06:52 How to Build a £100 Million Turnover Company
07:21 The Entrepreneur's Playbook Is Bollocks
08:21 Launching Cruise 118 With Everything on the Line
08:49 Hour to Hour Survival: The Early Years
11:17 Why Launching Panache During COVID Was the right move
11:39 Leaving Cruise 118: Was There Any Sadness?
12:59 What James Did Differently Second Time Around
14:27 Vision 2020: Colleagues, Customers, Cruise Lines
15:12 A Tour of the Panache Cruises Office
16:09 What Is a Connoisseur? The Panache Sales Model
16:46 Top 40 Customers: £8 Million in Bookings
17:05 Thriving With Your Back Against the Wall
18:20 Turning COVID Into an Opportunity: 12,000 Leads
19:21 Influencer Marketing & Richard and Helen Tallew
20:58 Anna Perra, CCO: Why Panache Is Different
21:42 Giving Customers the CEO's Mobile Number
23:18 A More Content James Cole: Family, Balance & Growth
24:14 Work-Life Balance Is Bollocks — Life Balance Isn't
25:47 Being Authentic on LinkedIn as a Founder
27:15 Turning 50 & Climbing Kilimanjaro for Rubens Retreat
28:52 Reaching the Summit: What It Meant
30:07 The Road to £100 Million & Going Global
30:40 Expanding Into the US, Australia & Canada
32:14 Meeting Richard Branson on Necker Island
33:14 The 5km Open Water Swim: Visualise It First
34:31 Staff Perks, Pensions & Doing the Right Thing
36:53 Long-Term Goal: World's Biggest Luxury Cruise Seller
38:53 Letter to His Younger Self: Look After Yourself